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Greetings again from the darkness. Learning of the courageous people who found their own way to battle the Nazis during World War II never gets old. Sometimes brain power and courage are more important than gun power. Such is the case in this latest from writer-director Jonathan Jakubowicz, who brings a fascinating story from within the French Resistance to the big screen. This is a group that rescued 10,000 orphaned kids, and this is a story of one special man from within that group.

Jesse Eisenberg (and an iffy French accent) plays Marcel, the son of a multi-generational Jewish butcher in Strasbourg France. Out of familial duty, Marcel works at the butcher shop with his father, but his passion is in performing arts. One evening his dad (Karl Markovics) 'catches' him performing a silent Charlie Chaplin act on stage at a local cabaret. A parental lecture follows. Marcel's penchant for entertaining does come in handy when he helps his brother Alain (Felix Moati) and cousin Georges (Geza Rohrig, SON OF SAUL) rescue 123 orphans.

The opening sequence in the film finds young Elsbeth (Bella Ramsey, Lorna Luft in JUDY) witnessing her Jewish parents being murdered in the street outside their Munich home by Nazis in 1938. We next see her in the group of 123 orphans noted above. As a kind of framing device, we flash forward to 1945 in Nuremberg, as General George S Patton (Ed Harris) is addressing the troops and telling the story of a remarkable man. That man is Marcel, and the film then takes us through his journey and we "see" the story that General Patton is "telling."

When Marcel and his brother agree to join the French Jewish Resistance (also known as Organization Juive de Combat, OJC), they face more danger, and maintain their focus on rescuing orphans. Helping in the cause is Emma (Clemence Poesy, IN BRUGES), and a mutual respect and attraction forms between she and Marcel. The brutality of the war is shown through the actions of Klaus Barbie (Matthias Schweighofer). As the head of the Gestapo in France (and known as The Butcher of Lyon), Barbie works out of the Hotel Terminus, and his sadistic tendencies find their way into the Resistance.

Once the war escalates to a certain point, the Resistance must decide whether it's best to continue hiding the kids, or risk the perilous journey across the Alps in hopes of freedom. In reality, it's not much of a decision, as staying put likely means torture, if not death. There are some touching moments between Marcel and the kids, and some acts of pure bravery from all involved.

At times, the film teeters into LIFE IS BEAUTIFUL territory, but never for long. The moments of pure terror are well presented, yet never overly graphic. We feel the stress of the Resistance as they struggle to get the kids to safety, and feel their pain in tragic losses. As the film ends, General Patton finishes his story by introducing his story's Marcel. The spotlight then lands on Marcel Marceau in full make-up and costume. Marceau, of course, went on to become famous and beloved around the world as the most famous mime. Filmmaker Jakubowicz has delivered yet another fascinating story of heroism and courage ... another story that deserves to be remembered.

A Terrific Cast Flowing through a Compelling Story and a Formulaic Movie3/27/2020 12:00:00 AM by TwistedContent6

The 27th March of 2020 is a good day, a decent day, a day to enjoy a fresh Jesse Eisenberg double feature - "Resistance" and "Vivarium". I decided to start with this biographical WW2 drama in which Eisenberg portrays the real life figure Marcel Marceau, one of the world's most famous mimes and a resistance fighter during the era of WW2 in Europe. The simple verdict is this - it's kind of a mixed bag.

"Resistance" struggles to excel in the well-crowded niche of various WW2 dramas, adventures and historical tales, all usually told in similar fashion. The true story they're telling is compelling, but the screenplay less so. Perhaps the best part of "Resistance" is its first act, which introduces us to Marcel, his love for acting and art, his newfound purpose in helping war orphaned children and the resistance itself - this is where we enjoy endearing scenes and the heart of humanism most vividly, before the movie slowly transforms in by-the-numbers war thriller. Ultimately, "Resistance" feels disjointed and underwhelmingly unoriginal when it comes to screenplay and direction. Thankfully, a whole lot is redeemed by a terrific cast that seems to pour their hearts and souls into authentic and passionate performances, despite the character development being written in perhaps an oversimplified manner. Jesse Eisenberg is very possibly at his best, portraying Marcel with respect, emotional energy and deep feeling. However, I surely know nothing about it, but his mime work just seemed a little shabby at moments. Poésy (as female lead) and Schweigh?fer (as central villain) are other performance stand-outs, making the core cast unshakeable. Edgar Ramirez and Ed Harris, to whomever it may concern, are there for only a single workday on set, shouldn't be top-credited at all. Also, I'm pretty sure that the overall French accent situation in this movie is pretty messed up. "Resistance" is aesthetically well enough designed, cinematography's fluid enough, the last act is visually the most satisfying offering & Angelo Milli's contemporary but fulfilled original score tries its best to help carry the mood throughout.

"Resistance" works as a compelling small-scale indie biopic, its scope is indeed too familiar, but the dooming dryness of a formulaic biopic combine with a formulaic WW2 drama is stopped effectively by a cast that deserves a round of applause. My rating: 6/10.

When are these movies gonna cease? Every possible angle of WW2 and the so called Holocaust has been covered (except what the Japanese did, which is just as bad as the Germans -- interesting that THAT is overlooked, eh?)

It's boring already.

There are just too many so the message is diluted.

Eisenberg, seriously?3/29/2020 12:00:00 AM by legrandcaelum1

Honestly,i have no idea!Eisenberg is a disaster as actor and extreeeeemely bad choice for this title.He can't act, he has no charisma.

Amazing movie3/29/2020 12:00:00 AM by carboncin10

It is a great cast, i think eissenberg did a really good job portraying the mime, the movie itself it's really immersive. I will recommend to everyone